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Faiths Come Together at National Cathedral on National Day of Mourning
By Ayesha Ahmad and Neveen A. Salem
WASHINGTON, Sept 14 (IslamOnline) - Faith is the thread weaving through every tangle of America's suffering and healing. It runs through the linked hands of men, women and children around the nation who have wept tears, bowed heads and prayed together for those who died Tuesday morning and those who survived them, and it rises to heaven from the cries of those trying to understand the tragedy.
It also flares into destructive evil, from the mouths of those who would claim that innocent people can be murdered in the name of Islam and from the vengeful hiss of ignorance from those who would claim that Islam is at the heart of the deaths of innocent people.
But it was a transcendent, luminescent faith that brought American Christians, Muslims, Jews and others together to the National Cathedral on Friday, on the day U.S. President George W. Bush declared a National Day of Mourning and Prayer.
A diverse and grieving congregation closed their eyes beneath the vaulted, ornate walls of the Washington cathedral and listened to eloquent prayers from leaders of different faiths - all avowing the united hearts of the nation, and affirming the eternal love and mercy of God and the humility of humanity before His glory.
"We turn to You, our Lord, at this time of pain and grief in our nation," said Muzzammil Siddiqui, president of the Islamic Society of North America, who began the prayer service with praises in Arabic.
"We see the evil of destruction and the suffering of the many of our people before our eyes. With broken hands and humbled hearts, and with tears in our eyes, we turn to You, our Lord, to give us comfort.
"Help us in our distress, keep us together as people of diverse faiths, colors and races, keep our country strong for the sake of good and righteousness, and protect us from all evil. Ameen," he finished.
The service was arranged by President and Mrs. Bush on this day of National Prayer and Remembrance and included everyone from former presidents Clinton, Carter, Ford and Bush, to members of the current cabinet, Congress and Senate.
Arab American Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham, as well as Yahya M. Basha, president of the American Muslim Council, attended the invitation-only service.
Rabbi Joshua Haberman, of the Washington Hebrew Congregation, who read from The Book of Lamentations, followed Siddiqui.
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases," Haberman read, "for the Lord will not cast off forever… he does not willingly afflict of grieve anyone."
Pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell, of the Windsor Village United Methodist Church also delivered a prayer, quoting the Book of Second Corinthians, "If the Earthly house that we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with the hands of men, eternal in the heavens."
Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, archbishop of Washington, also comforted service-goers with a prayer from the Gospel according to Matthew, and relayed a message at St. Matthews earlier saying, "We must pray for our leaders. That they will not lose sight of the fact that we are a nation of laws. Our response must be strong . . . and just. And we must not take our anger and anxieties out on a whole nation, a whole people or a whole ethnic group."
Cardinal McCarrick also stated that his nephew, Michael Lynch, 30 is one of the hundreds of New York firefighters missing in the rubble in New York.
Evangelist Billy Graham also made an appearance and assured the congregation that God understands their feelings of anger, but that there are lessons to be learned from tragedy and suffering. "I have to accept by faith that God is sovereign and that He is the God of love and mercy and compassion in the midst of suffering. This event can give us a message of hope. Hope for the present, and hope for the future."
Finally, Bush issued a prayer for the nation, assuring them that the U.S.'s "responsibility to history is already clear - to answer these attacks and rid the world of evil."
"This nation is peaceful, but fierce when stirred to anger," Bush said. "This conflict was begun on the timing and terms of others. It will end in a way, and in an hour, of our choosing."
Earlier Friday, former senior presidential advisor to Bill Clinton, George Stephanopoulos, during a program with Charles Gibson and Diane Sawyer, which featured Arab and Muslim Americans, discussing issues of hate crimes and discrimination, also called for increased inclusion of Muslims in interfaith dialogues.
Also earlier Friday, Imam Yehya Hendi, Muslim Chaplain at Georgetown University was featured in an interfaith dialogue on ABC NEWS with Peter Jennings. Hendi relayed that thousands of Muslim women have decided to remain indoors for fear of being attacked, as they can be easily identified by their dress. Hundreds of Muslim men and women have already been physically and verbally attacked.
Readings and addresses at the National Cathedral were interspersed with musical services; a stirring rendition of the national anthem preceded Siddiqui's address; and the cathedral's Boys and Girls Chorister sang a haunting, ethereal air.
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